Chapter 6
“Religion”
Religions of the World
This next slide contains a map that was on last
year’s AP Final exam.
1. The map above shows the distribution of three religious groups in the contiguous United States.
A. Using the letters in the legend, name the three religious groups shown on the map.
B. For ONE of the three religious groups, first identify and then explain TWO factors that have
influenced the
distribution shown on the map.
C. Explain how the map as presented at this scale is an incomplete representation of the geography of
religion
in the United States.
• Religion and Language lie at the foundation
of culture
• Universalizing religions – …
• Ethnic religions (cultural) – …
Religion
Christianity
Roman Catholic
Protestant
Major World Religions
Predominant
Region(s)
Am, Eur, Aus, Rus
C & S Am, Eur
N Am, N Eur, Aus
Orthodox
E Eur, Rus, C Asia
Islam
Sunni
Shia (Shiite)
N Afr, SW Asia, Indo.
Hinduism
Buddhism
Chinese Religions
Sikhism
Judaism
N Afr, SW Asia
Iran
India
SE Asia, China, Japan
China
S Asia
US, Eur
Followers (in
millions)
1524
829
503
192
1157
996
163
757
347
263
22
17
The Universalizing Religions can be divided into
Branches, Denominations and Sects.
A Branch is a large fundamental division with a
religion. Eg. Roman Catholic is a branch of
Christianity.
A Denomination is a division of a branch that
unites a number of local congregations in a
single legal and administrative body.
Eg. Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and Lutheran
are denominations of the Protestant church.
A Sect is a relatively small group broken away
from an established denomination. The
‘Community of the Ladies of all Peoples’ is a sect
of the Protestant Church.
Christianity - > 1.5 billion, Bible
• Major denominations
– Roman Catholic – Papacy (Rome)
– Protestant – Luther (Germany)
– Orthodox – Constantinople (Turkey)
• Source, Beliefs, Diffusion
- Bible - holy book
– Jesus – son of God (Jerusalem);
– Roman Emperor Constantine (312 AD) spreads
Christianity (hierarchical and relocation diff),
– spreads throughout Europe & Balkans (contagious
diff)
– European colonialism - Americas & Africa (relocation
diff)
Diffusion of Christianity
Christianity diffused from Palestine through the Roman Empire and continued
diffusing through Europe after the fall of Rome. It was later replaced by Islam
in much of the Mideast and North Africa.
Islam - > 1 billion
• Major denominations
– Sunni – orthodox (majority) - leadership of the Muslim
nation – can be elected
– Shiite – leadership of the Muslim nation – must be
related to the Prophet Muhammad or appointed by
him
• Source & Beliefs
– Qu’ran - holy book
– Muhammad is the messenger of God
– (571 AD, Mecca, Medina);
– “Five Pillars” – shahada (profession of faith), pray 5 X
day, fasting (Ramadan), almsgiving, pilgrimage to
Mecca - Haj
– Mosque
• Diffusion
– Spread from Medina (Saudi Arabia) follows
hierarchical diffusion – conquest – Ottoman
Empire
– Spread through Arab traders throughout N
Africa (contagious diff) – convert many animist
believers.
– Crusades - stop the spread of Islam (1095 –
1199) – illustrate struggle b/w Christianity &
Islam
– Spread to Malaysia & Indonesia (largest Muslim
country today) – relocation diffusion
Diffusion of Islam
Hinduism - >750 million
• Oldest major religion
• Source & Beliefs
– Indus Valley (Pakistan; 4,000 yrs. ago)
– Ganges River
– Caste system (Untouchables – lowest, Brahman highest caste),
– Karma (force generated by a person’s actions) –
affects transmigrations into future existence),
reincarnation)
– Cremation
• Diffusion
– Spread into SE Asia, Bali (Indonesia) – relocation diff
as well as contagious diff - mainly through trade and
migration
Buddhism - <350 million
• Source and Beliefs
– Gautama (the Buddha – enlightened one
(wealthy founder, 6th c. BC)
– Buddha sought to end suffering, seek to achieve
nirvana (highest level of enlightenment), no true
God or deity, believe in reincarnation
– Pagodas and shrines, often bell-shaped (protect
burial mounds), Buddha (cross-legged pose)
• Diffusion
– Spread from Nepal to the South and the East –
relocation diff and contagious diff - trade and
migration
Diffusion of Buddhism
Buddhism diffused gradually from its origin in northeastern India to Sri
Lanka, southeast Asia, and eventually China and Japan.
Judaism - >12.8 million
• Source and Beliefs
- Torah (Five Books of Moses)
- Belief in God – special relationship with God
(Covenant); Abraham, Moses
- Waiting for the Messiah
- Synagogue
• Diffusion
- Zionist movement led to homeland (Israel);
- Jerusalem - Diffusion due to migration and
persecution (Diaspora - forced dispersion).
Chinese Religions:
• Taoism: Lao-Tsu, Fung Shui
• organizing life & space
• Confucianism:
• Confucian Classics (13 texts, 5th c. BC)
• elements of Buddhism
Other Religions:
• Sikhism - Punjab (NW India), monotheistic,
elements of Hinduism & Islam
• Shintoism – Buddhism & Japanese culture
• Shamanism– people follow a shaman (religious
leader)
• Baha’l – Iran – new - began in the 19th Century –
open to other religions – main holy place is in Haifa
- Israel
Diffusion of Universalizing Religions
Each of the three main universalizing religions diffused widely from its
hearth.
Click here to see an excellent animation (Flash)
that illustrates the diffusion of the major religions
through time.
Diffusion of the 4 Major Religions
Key Terms:
• Monotheistic – …
• Syncretism – …
• Secularism – …
• Theocracy – …
• Ghetto - …
• Fundamentalist - …
• Animism - …
•Polytheism - …
Three main religions have similar origins – Christianity,
Judaism, Islam:
- All three believe Adam was the first Man
- Abraham was one of his descendants
-These 3 religions all believe in God/Allah and that
Abraham was a great prophet. Jerusalem is the area where
the Canaanites lived (the promised land given to them
from God. The Canaanites were the ancestors of the
Hebrews, also called Israelites and today Jews.
Jerusalem is a major city for all three faiths.
- Judaism – Temple Mount – Wailing Wall (Western
Wall) – Where God gathered dust and created Adam
- Islam – Dome of the Rock – East side of the wailing
wall – Muhammad assent into Heaven
- Christianity – Where Jesus lived, preached and died.
Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem contains holy sites for Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
All three began roughly the same part of the world –
Center of Population at the time, major trade routes.
This area was at one time or another controlled by
the Egyptians, The Romans, The Hebrews and the
Ottomans.
Interesting to discuss how each Religion views or
effects the following:
• Cosmogony – origins of the universe
• Religious Calendar
• Rituals for the Dead
• Toponyms
• Pilgrimages - location of Holy Places
• How conflicts have been centered on Religion Middle East, Northern Ireland, Iraq/Iran
• Religious Landscape/Architecture
• How each Religion handles expansion and defence of
it’s faith
Boundary Changes in Palestine/Israel
The UN partition plan for Palestine in 1947 contrasted with the boundaries
that were established after the 1948–49 War. Major changes later resulted
from the 1967 War.
Protestants in Northern Ireland
Percent Protestant population by district in Ireland, 1911. When Ireland
became independent in 1937, 26 northern districts with large Protestant
populations chose to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Religion and Geography
Landscape and Sacred Space
-Places possess sacredness
Religious Ecology
-Mountains, rivers and natural hazards are holy
Religion and Environmental Modification
-Humans rule the earth and have dominion of the animals
and plants
Religion and the Economy
-Wine, Pork, alcohol, food taboos
Religion and Political Geography
-Theocracies
Landscapes of the Dead
-Cemeteries, tombs, ceremonies
Religious Names on the land
-Toponyms
Religion and Geography
Landscape and Sacred Space
-Places possess sacredness
Religious Ecology
-Mountains, rivers and natural hazards are holy
Religion and Environmental Modification
-Humans rule the earth and have dominion of the animals
and plants
Religion and the Economy
-Wine, Pork, alcohol, food taboos
Religion and Political Geography
-Theocracies
Landscapes of the Dead
-Cemeteries, tombs, ceremonies
Religious Names on the land
-Toponyms
Architecture - Cultural Landscape
Christianity
First Church of Christ, Connecticut
Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Ideal Gothic Church
Greek Orthodox (Byzantine) Church in Crete, Greece
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City - Rome
Islam
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Santa Sophia (Hagia) – Istanbul, Turkey
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Sikhism
Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
Hinduism
Shiva Temple, Rameshvaram
& Badrinath, India
Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar, India
Bathing in the Ganges River by Hindu Pilgrims
Buddhism
Swayabhunath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal
That Phanom Shrine, Thailand
Buddha Statue
Shintoism
Senjokaku Shrine, Miyajima, Japan
Judaism
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, Israel
Holy Blossom, Toronto
Western Wall & Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel
Baha’i
One Temple in each
of the Continents:
Chile
India
USA
Western Samoa
Panama
Australia
Uganda
Turkmenistan
Baha’i Temple - Illinois
Vocabulary List
Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes, Part 2—Basic Vocabulary and Concepts
Religion
Animism
Buddhism
Cargo cult pilgrimage
Christianity
Confucianism
Ethnic religion
Exclave/enclave
Fundamentalism
Geomancy (feng shui)
Hadj
Hinduism
Interfaith boundaries
Islam
Jainism
Judaism
Landscapes of the dead
Monotheism/polytheism
Mormonism
Muslim pilgrimage
Muslim population
Proselytic religion
Reincarnation
Religion (groups, places)
Religious architectural styles
Religious conflict
Religious culture hearth
Religious toponym
Sacred space
Secularism
Shamanism
Sharia law
Shintoism
Sikhism
Sunni/Shia
Taoism
Theocracy
Universalizing
Zoroastrianism
The End!